Usage of mobile phones while driving is known to be a cause or a contributing factor in automobile crashes and fatalities. Numerous states and municipalities have enacted laws banning or restricting the use of mobile phones while driving. However, these laws are often ignored and driver mobile phone distraction continues to be a significant, and perhaps increasing, public safety concern.
As used herein, the term “mobile phone” includes any type of mobile device, communication device or other computing device usable by the driver of a vehicle, including but not limited to cellular phones, smart phones, tablets, laptop computers, electronic reading devices, multimedia equipment, and any comparable device that would or could be used by a driver while operating a vehicle.
As used herein, the term “vehicle” includes any type of vehicle or automobile that can be used to transport people or goods from one location to another location, including but not limited to cars, trucks, commercial trucks, recreational vehicles, buses, commercial heavy duty equipment (e.g., earth moving equipment), military vehicles, electric bicycles, motorcycles, ships, boats, jet skis, trains, trams, hot air balloons, helicopters, planes, and any comparable type of vehicle that presents a risk if the operator is distracted while operating the vehicle.
Employers whose employees' duties include driving have a strong interest in knowing that those employees are driving safely. This includes a desire to limit or prevent mobile phone use and to know whether the employees are in fact following all relevant regulations. Parents of young drivers have similar interests, wanting to know that their children are not using a mobile phone while driving and particularly are not texting. In addition, certain other individuals may be concerned about their own personal use of a mobile phone (or the mobile phone use of others) while operating a vehicle and want a device to help limit their use of the mobile phones while driving. Some groups, such as carpools, have interests in monitoring and knowing group members' level of mobile phone use while they are driving. Insurance carriers also have an interest in reducing or monitoring distracted driving as distracted driving is a contributor to many car crashes. Supporters of campaigns or pledges (such as a pledge at work not to engage in distracted driving) also have an interest in reducing distracted driving for those who have pledged not to engage in such activities. Groups of these types and others composed of employees, insured drivers, family members or friends, for example, could form to apply social or peer pressure to promote safe driving by limiting mobile phone usage while driving based on recorded data about mobile phone usage while driving.
There are existing technologies that have been proposed and developed to prevent drivers from using mobile phones while driving. These are in two general categories: (i) electronic or mechanical devices that are either installed into vehicle ports or mounted in the vehicle, or (ii) mobile phone applications that sense motion of the mobile phone.
Devices in the first category, electronic or mechanical devices, can be installed into various vehicle ports or mounted in the vehicle, and are commonly installed into the onboard diagnostic port. U.S. federal law mandates that every car manufactured after 1996 include an onboard diagnostic port (“OBD II”). The OBD II is the vehicle's on-board computer(s) and port that are monitoring all the subsystems of a vehicle, providing real-time data and diagnostic trouble codes (this is the same port used by technicians to obtain diagnostic trouble codes when the “check engine” light is on). The live data available from the OBD II can include numerous vehicle measurements and characteristics, such as vehicle speed (MPH), engine revolutions per minute (RPM), absolute throttle position, and accelerator pedal position. The OBD II relies on data from numerous sensors contained within the vehicle to monitor the vehicle. The OBD II allows compatible devices the ability to obtain this data from the vehicle when it is being driven or is parked, and this data can be extrapolated to determine various aspects of driving habits and behaviors. These devices are often used to detect the ongoing speed of the vehicle through constant monitoring, while the device described herein is monitoring to determine when the vehicle is turned on, when the vehicle is turned off, and when certain prescribed protocols are violated. There can be significant vehicle battery drain from using data from the OBD II, as the OBD II monitors many systems in a vehicle.
Existing technologies in the second category, mobile phone applications that sense motion of the phone, also suffer from several limitations. The sensing technologies rely on motion of the mobile phone to detect that the phone's user is driving; however, the mere fact that the mobile phone is moving at the rate of speed of a vehicle does not indicate that the user is driving. There can be significant mobile phone battery drain from using these mobile phone applications as these applications often rely on the mobile phone's GPS.
In the present invention, generating of an audible alarm and/or visual alarm to initiate and maintain compliance, as well as when certain prescribed protocols are violated, is similar to the seat belt reminder system (“SBRS”) warning that is generated when a driver does not buckle his or her seat belt after a vehicle is turned on. The first driver seat belt warning systems and seat belt interlocks date back to the 1970s, when seat belt use was as low as 12 to 15 percent. In 1971, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sought to increase seat belt use by adopting occupant protection options for vehicles manufactured after 1972 that required the use of a SBRS for the front outboard seating positions. Ultimately, the legislation was amended to only require that the driver's seating position be equipped with a seat belt warning system that activates, under circumstances when the driver's seat belt is not buckled, a continuous or intermittent audible signal for a period of not less than 4 seconds and not more than 8 seconds, and a continuous or flashing warning light for not less than 60 seconds after the vehicle is started. This provision has remained a part of the standard for vehicles manufactured since 1974. Through various legislation, enforcement, community outreach, technology improvements, the public's acceptance of seat belts, and other measures, seat belt use in 2015 reached 88.5 percent.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of tracking, monitoring and preventing mobile phone usage that does not significantly drain the vehicle's battery or the mobile phone's battery, is simple to use, and additionally uses an audible alarm and/or visual alarm when the vehicle turns on, as well as uses an audible alarm and/or visual alarm to maintain compliance when certain prescribed protocols are violated. The audible and/or visual alarm to maintain compliance is used to help prevent a user from potentially bypassing the system and device that are intended to help prevent distracted driving. In contrast to the existing OBD II monitoring devices and the mobile phone applications described, the present invention generates an audible alarm and/or visual alarm when certain prescribed protocols are violated, including when the vehicle is turned on, and can be located in the vehicle's dashboard or electronic system, such as the electronic system that is generally associated with the vehicle radio or music equipment, vehicle navigation equipment, vehicle heating and air conditioning system, or electronic controls as the access point for a vehicle monitoring device, which has several inherent advantages. First, generating an audible alarm and/or visual alarm when the vehicle turns on alerts the user to connect the device and the mobile phone software, similarly to the alert from the SBRS warning that is generated when a driver does not buckle his or her seat belt after the vehicle is turned on. Second, most vehicles currently manufactured come equipped with a dashboard or electronic system, and thus the present invention relates to equipment generally available in a large segment of vehicles. Third, the vehicle's dashboard or electronic system is a dedicated space within the vehicle often used for other alert signals regarding the vehicle. Fourth, the typical position of the vehicle's dashboard or electronic system allows the device to be placed in a space where signals, such as sound and light, can be readily heard or seen by the driver. Fifth, the present invention results in significantly less vehicle battery drain than an OBD II device. Sixth, the present invention results in significantly less mobile phone battery drain than mobile phone applications described. The inventions described herein addresses the above needs, as well as providing additional features and applications, as will become readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.